LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Clippers cruised to an
easy 119-98 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night at Staples
Center, to move into first place in the Pacific Division. The entertaining win
was a reward to the fans that showed up for the contest and didn't stay at home
to watch game 7 of the World Series. The announced attendance of 13,487 was
their lowest since 2010 when they drew 11,504 on Thanksgiving.
“I thought we did a better job of getting back to our
offense and things we worked on since camp started,” said Griffin.
Austin Rivers scored 19. DeAndre Jordan chipped in 13 and
added a game-leading nine boards. No Clippers player played more than 28
minutes.
The visiting Mavericks, who only have one win on the
season, looked hungry for a win in the early going, as they held an eight-point
lead midway through the first quarter at 21-13. The Clippers then tightened up
on defense as they chipped away at the lead before eventually leading by three
points at the end of the period.
“It felt like the first five minutes, we still had a
hangover [from 141-113 loss to Golden State on Monday] defensively,” said Head
Coach Doc Rivers. “We were awful. Then all of a sudden, we clicked in and start
getting stops and running.”
In the second quarter, the Clippers continued exerting
effort on defense in the beginning with the second unit, using it to get out
into transition to take a commanding lead. The Mavericks were outscored by 15
points in the period.
“They had a smaller lineup, Gallo [Danilo Gallinari] was
the four,” said Rivers. “I thought what happened was the spacing. Our guards
were going downhill. We were able to feature Gallo and he made plays. It was
good for him.”
Recently, there had been rumors about the Clippers
acquiring former point guard Eric Bledsoe, who is on the outs in Phoenix to
shore up their back court but it may not be needed because of the contributions
Patrick Beverly and Rivers are making, in addition to super sixth man Lou
Williams. Beverly had three steals and Williams scored 17 off the bench.
Without Chris Paul dominating possession, the ball seems
to be moving a lot more than in previous seasons; the Clippers assisted on 27
of the 41 made field goals.
The Clippers have held five of its first seven opponents
under 100 points. Their next two games will be back to back 12:30 starts on the
weekend against Memphis and Miami, respectively.
